Strategic staffing is truly teamwork.

Building the optimal talent pool within an organization is difficult in any economic environment, but more so now than ever. Today, many companies are finding it extremely effective to secure the expertise of an industry-specific Executive Recruiter to work, as a team, with top management in strategic human resources planning.

The Professional Services sector (Legal Services, Insurance, Accounting, Executive Search, et. al.) has become a market of specialization with a wider array of clients, each of whose services have their own unique market niche. That means that professional services organizations must be generalists and specialists at the same time; generalists, in that one has to know every aspect of the business sector that they service, and specialists, in that service companies must understand the nuances of each of their clients' businesses.

As service organizations, it is in our best interests to understand our clients' businesses; what better way than to hire talent that is already familiar with our clients' business operations. To identify unique and highly specialized candidates, it is advantageous to enlist the longterm professional services of an outsourced recruiting firm. To maximize the value of the Search Firm/Client relationship, it is best to bring in a representative from the Recruiting Firm early in the staffing decision-making process.

A specialized Recruiter can act as a consultant, providing valuable insight to the President and upper management team. A recruiter can be highly effective and invaluable as part of the decision-making team in planning for the addition of new staff, the training and development of existing personnel, the promotion of current staff, and the development of an objective-based Performance Bonus System.

Having an outside recruiting professional on your team can provide a source of up-to-date industry insight into areas such as competitive salary ranges, new training methodologies, the latest technical or software knowledge, and specialized networking resources to identify uniquely-talented candidates for hard-to-fill positions.

Industry-specific recruiters can be indispensable in working with a company's top management team to took ahead at the company's future business direction and potential clients, as well as at a firm's existing business in order to profile exactly the right experience, talents, skills, and background needed for the next open position. Equally important is the recruiter's ability to assess the personality and culture of the firm, and that of the clients or customers whom they serve. Today, a candidate's personality and nature are as important a criteria as their skill set in identifying, screening and hiring a candidate who will perform best in a specific company environment.

Recruiters who are closely involved with their clients' management teams can anticipate shifts in the needs of their clients, which may involve retraining and reorganizing existing staff, rather that just adding new talent to their organization. A long-term "teamwork" relationship with a knowledgeable recruiting firm can become a company's greatest strategic alliance in planning for the structure and staffing of the company's future.

Jennifer Rosky is Principal and Founder of SOLUTION MARKETING, a Los Angeles-based recruiting firm specializing in Marketing, Communications and Sales. Jennifer can be reached at [phone] ext 102; website: www.solution-marketing.com.